Eyes of a Spectator
by Daemon McRae
Summary: A little bit of fun the night before Comiket. Slightly Lime. Written for Zokusho's Fanfiction Challenge 3.


Since my other POV oneshots did pretty well, I'm going to go ahead and give it a shot for this story, too. Have fun.

Eyes of a Spectator

_Ooh, this isn't a good idea…_ thought Hiyori, as she snuck in behind Patricia and Konata through a service entrance to Tokyo Big Sight. "You guys, are we really sure we should do this? I mean most of the stuff we're going to see we'll see tomorrow, anyway…"

Patricia wheeled around and stared at her for a second. "No, no, no, Hiyorin! You're just not getting it! It's an adventure! A plot point! We could end up seeing amazing things that no one but the booth holders and Convention organizers get to see! Think about it! Comiket a night early!"

Konata didn't turn around, but she paused as she was bobby-pinning a side door open. "And besides, Hiyorin, you've already come this far, why not have a little adventure?"

Hiyori sighed and trudged forward. "Yeah, I guess you're right, sempai. But it still feels weird. And how did you know which lock to pick? Furthermore, how do you know how to do that?"

"I told you, I used to be a booth girl, remember?"

_That still doesn't answer my question_, the mangaka thought to herself, but the girls were already through the door, so she kept quiet and hurried after them. The darkness that greeted her gave her a bit of trouble, at first, until Patricia passed out flashlights. "Ok, you two, we've got our supplies ready! You guys left your normal convention gear back in the hotel, right?"

Konata nodded, barely opening her eyes in the crossbeam of her friend's flashlisghts. "Of course. All I have is my sneaking stuff. So, let's go over the schecule one more time…" she added, sitting down in a small corner of the janitorial room they had snuck into. She pulled out a map and laid it out on the floor. "Ok, the normal staff isn't going to be here until 9:00 am tomorrow. There are still some guards here, but I know two of them; they're the ones that told me about this door. I've drawn in blue the normal routes the night shift guard takes. Security cameras might be a small problem, but I have them drawn here in red circles…" she went on, giving instructions and educating them on the map's key, and where they could and couldn't go, for risk of getting caught, and banned.

"Gee, Konata, you sure put a lot of energy into this!" Patricia said admiringly. She started rummaging through the pack she'd carried in, and started divvying up supplies.

Konata took a small bundle of snacks and a Café Latte from her. "That's because I've been planning this since they moved the convention to Big Site. There was no way I'd be able to get away with this at the old location, the place was too small, so there wasn't enough room to sneak around."

_So you've been planning on breaking the law since you were 12?_ Hiyori rubbed a temple with her fingers, slightly exasperated at her sempai's choice of ambitions. "Well, at least we're well informed. Since I'm as far in as I can get, I might as well ask; what are our targets?"

Patricia grinned, and took over explaining. "We have three big ones, and a couple of smaller targets that we shouldn't worry about as much. The first major prize is the West Stockroom. Since they're holding the New Circle panel in this wing this year, their material is going to be held there, and we'll get a sneak peak at those artists before anyone else. That way, we don't have to sit through the panel to figure out what we're going to buy."

"So why is it first?" Hiyori asked, tilting her head in confusion.

The other two glanced at each other. Then Konata answered, "Because that's the wing we're _in_, Hiyorin. Didn't you know that?"

The young mangaka looked a bit sheepish. "I couldn't tell, it's pretty dark out, and my eyesight isn't that good at night."

They shrugged it off. Then Patricia kept on, "Ok, then, we need to sneak past the atrium, the conference tower, and the entrance hall, to get to the East Wing. There, we'll-"

"Wait, wait. We need to get past _all of that_ to get there? Isn't there another service entrance we can go through on that side?"

Konata shook her head. "Nope. They've started upgrades on their security system, spanning out from that wing. This entrance was one of the only ones not set to the new specs; the rest need keycards."

"But wouldn't they post guards at the unimproved doors?" Hiyori shook nervously.

The older otaku simply smiled, and rapped on the door behind her. The lock clicked, and Hiyori jumped under a table. "Hiyorin, relax, it's ok," Konata said soothingly. She gestured to an older gentleman who had stepped into the room, wearing a security uniform. "This is Akito. He used to draw for the circle that I worked with a few years ago. Now he's a guard here. "

The older gentleman nodded, and Hiyorin could barely make him out from under the table. She scooted out to the middle of the room to get a better look. Although, he was a bit nondescript. Short brown hair, slightly tan, average height. He nodded, and gave a smile. "I know you three aren't going to run off with anything, so it's ok. Konata's too hardcore to disrespect the artists and the convention my stealing. Besides, the night shift is boring. I could use a little excitement." His voice was also kind of bland; like the voices you here in the background when you're not paying attention.

Patricia helped her to her feet, and handed her some food supplies. "I've also got security blankets, if we get locked in anywhere and need to camp out. Don't worry; we've taken care of everything."

The girls wrapped up the supplies they had splayed out across the room during their planning session, and waved Akito goodbye, with Konata leading them down a small sect of hallways, reading the map as she went. She paused in a few places, and waited for a guard to pass at one; and waiving them around asecurity camera at the next. After much wandering, and quite a bit of silent fretting on Hiyori's part, Konata came to a dead stop in front of a set of double doors.

"Ok, they look locked, let's try and-" Hiyori started, put Patricia shushed her, and Konata pulled a coat hanger out of her bag. Hiyori opened her mouth to ask what it was for, but her classmate preempted her with another, more insistent "Shhhh!"

So the girls watched as their sempai knealt down in front of the doors, and untwisted the wire. She fed it under the door, and worked for a couple of minutes, before they heard a _click._ Hiyori took a step forward, put Patty held out an arm to stop her, and Konata kept working the wire. Eventually, there was another soft click, and Konata pulled the doors open, motioning them inside. Patricia waltzed in happily, and Hiyori followed, glancing back, and seeing the bolts at the bottom of the door that Konata had rigged open. With a small sigh at the older girls burglary skills, she slowly walked into the storeroom, as Patricia had already helped herself to some of the boxes that were left open, scanning through book after book, and tossing them back in their cases with small comments like "To rough." "Not funny." "Too gross." "Eww, what's that?" and "Jeez, you guys suck, too."

Hiyori thought she had just about given up when a small squeal of delight made itself heard, and Patricia waved them over. "You guys, check this out! Oh my god, these guys have done a TW**Y doujin!"

Hiyori's ears perked up a little, and she rushed to investigate. It was, in fact, a short comic depicting the characters from one of her favorite DS titles. _Ooh, he's not a bad artist. I should have done something like thi- Oh my god, I wouldn't think Shiki would enjoy that so much…_ and proceeded to lose herself in the comic. By the time she had finished with the story, involving an interesting psychokinetic powers and a severe lack of clothes, she was practically drooling. It wasn't until one of the other two girls clamped a tissue over her mouth that she realized she _was_ drooling.

"Hiyorin, don't drool on the comics! They'd know we were here!" Konata scolded, wiping off her kouhai's chin.

Hiyori snapped out of her reverie. "Oh, oops. Sorry…"

Konata gave the comic a glance. "Is it good? I never really got into that title. Although, I think it might still be in my to-play pile."

They poked around the room a little more, but there wasn't much to see past what they'd already gone through: most of the boxes were closed. Hiyori made sure to carry a pack of tissues with her, though. She was still finding stories she liked. It wasn't until Konata tapped her on the shoulder and gestured for the door did she bother to look at her cellphone. They had been in there for an hour.

Making sure to put everything back where it had been, at least, as well as they could remember, they departed the storeroom, pausing only long enough for Konata to dig out the coat hanger again, and reset the bolts to the door.

"Alright! On to the next target!" Patricia announced, and proceeded down a hallway.

"Um, Patty-chan, what _is_ the next target?" Hiyori asked quietly.

"Oh, that's right! I forgot to mention! The next target is the D-Game room!"

The mangaka's head spun a little. "D-Game room? As in Doujin games?"

Konata nodded, and grinned mischievously. "Yeah. According to Akito, the guy guarding that hallway is also from our old circle, and will let us in. We'll get to play those games _hours _before the others!"

Hiyori paused. "Um, won't most of them be packaged up and set aside, though?"

Their sempai shook her head. "Hm-mm. They have demo stations for the new titles, and a few corners where the old ones can be played, like the fighter doujins and stuff. And they have those set up in advance, to test everything the day before. So we should be able to sit down and play what we want."

Still a little hesitant, but getting tired of arguing, the meganekko kept quiet and trudged on.

Then, they met their first snag. A security guard at the side door of the entrance hall? "What's _he_ doing here?" Konata hissed quietly. "There shouldn't be anyone guarding this area! The entrance hall guard was supposed to be outside! And he's right next to the stairwell, we can't get past!"

The trio looked absolutely defeated, although Hiyori felt a little relieved; they could go home, and she wouldn't have to worry anymore. Except…

"Hey, Hiyorin, don't we know that guy?" Patricia asked.

Hiyori took a closer look. She did indeed recognize him, but… "No, I don't think so…"

"Yeah, yeah! I do!" Konata added excitedly. "He's the guy that bought all of your circle's work last year! You should be able to get us right past him!"

_Oh, crap…_ she moaned to herself. She thought about arguing again, but her track record spoke for itself. "Alright, let me try. But if we get thrown out, it's on you two!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever! Just go get 'im!" Konata urged, and shoved her into the entrance hall.

"Hey, stop!" the guard shouted, marching towards Hiyori. She flinched slightly, but regained some composure as the guy slowed down. "Hey, aren't you…"

_Come on, think of something…_ "Um, yeah, I'm one of the artists this year. I was here trying to get some last minute inventory done for tomorrow, and got locked in with my, um, assistants!" She frantically waved the other two over, and they appeared behind her. "We've been trying to find a way out, but most of the doors are keycarded now, and we didn't want to freak out the guards. But I recognized you from last year, so I thought…"

"Oh, yeah! I know you! You're Tamura Hiyori! I love your work! That Str****rry P***c doujin was awesome!" the guard continued to ramble excitedly, until Konata cut him off.

"Yeah, cool. Hey, could you let us through? Her material is in the East Wing, and we left a bad there. We don't want staff to show up and think someone broke in, you know?"

The guard nodded excitedly. "Oh, sure. Good thinking! Hey, can I have your autograph?"

Hiyori sighed, and stepped forward to sign his notebook. He then escorted them through to the next building, where a guard stopped them. "Don't worry, Shuto. They're just going to grab some stuff and head out. She's with Circle *****," Explained their new guard friend. The other one looked hesitant, but waved them through. And the first guard went back to his post.

"There's a service entrance at the end of the wing, down a small side hallway. Hard to miss. It's still on keycard, but only from the outside. Opening it from in here, you'll be fine."

Hiyori nodded, and was about to step through, when Patricia added, "Well, thank you. Um, we may be a little while; we just want to do a last minute check on the display. Our boss is kind of neurotic."

Shuto sighed. "Yeah, I know how that goes. Take your time, we're going to be the only ones here until morning." He added with a wink at Patricia.

_Apparently, she isn't above using feminine wiles to get through places. Wish I could do that. Ah well, she _is_ American, _Hiyori muttered to herself, and he waved them through, scanning another door open.

Konata was beside herself. "Excellent, Patricia! We now have an excuse to be here all night!"

The blonde girl looked rather proud of herself. "It's a hair-flip-and-smile combo I learned from an American cartoon."

And so, they trudged on. Until they hit snag number two. "Um, Konata? Why did we stop?"

Konata looked crestfallen. "The guy at the door to the D-Game room; he isn't who I thought. I don't know him. Looks like we're not going to be doing any gaming tonight." The older girl looked very disappointed.

Hiyori felt kind of bad for her, but again, was relieved. One other thing they didn't have to worry about. As they walked past the guard, he gave them a short nod. Hiyori assumed the guard must have radioed them through.

Patricia spent the next few minutes consoling their friend while Hiyori glanced around. _I wish there was something I could do to take her mind off of things, but… wait. What is- Oh my god…_ Hiyori stopped, and began to smile widely. It wasn't until the other two noticed she wasn't with them did they come back, and Patty asked, "Hiyorin? What are you doing?" She simply pointed at a small door, with a normal, non-keycard lock. Patricia glanced over, and her eyes grew wide. "Way to go, Tamura-chan! Kona-chan! Check this out!"

"Wha-" Konata started gloomily, until she, too, saw it. Then the otaku girl lit up like a Christmas tree.

On the door were two small words. _Cosplay Storage. _Konata wasted no time in picking the lock.

The room was grand. Not very large, but it held rack after rack of legendary costumes. "It's all here!" Konata cheered happily. "C**e G***s! F**L! N***to! Gu***m W**g! It's everything!" She then rifled through a rack of school uniform costumes, and picked out one with a reb blazer and skirt. "Excellent! Tor****a!"

Patricia had already made her selection. "Oh, my god! They have Cl****d uniforms!"

Hiyori was just as excited for them as she was for herself: she would get to draw them in all kinds of costumes. However, it wasn't long until she realized a large flaw in her plan.

They all had to change in the same room.

"Um, guys? Maybe we shouldn't put them on…" she muttered. The other two stared at her like she was insane.

"Why not? That's what they're here for!" Konata exclaimed, already halfway out of her clothes. Hiyori turned away quickly, staring at a spot on the wall. _Think about E**o P***y. P******a A**nt. Creepy animes._ She hurriedly pulled out a few tissues, covering her quickly bleeding nose. Konata didn't seem to notice. "And besides, I'm just the right build for a Taiga costume!"

"And this Tomoe outfit is fitting like a charm!" Patty added. Hiyori turned to look at her, and saw that she hadn't put the skirt on yet. _Bad fandubs. O*e P***e. R***n M****n. Gu***ith C**s in Japanese…_

At that point, though, Konata _did_ notice. A small smile played at her lips, as she realized a great opportunity to toy with her friend. She fitted the rest of the uniform on, and sidled up to her kouhai. "Tamura-chan~" she cooed softly. "Don't you want to see me in my uniform? I know she's your favorite character~"

Hiyori almost lost herself just then, but wrapped herself in tight, mentally. She turned around to look at Konata's costume, and had to admit, the fit was perfect. They had almost the same build. But the skirt was kind of short…

"Gah!" Hiyori exclaimed, blood rushing to her head. "Konata, you picked out Ami's skirt!"

Konata chuckled. "Oh, did I?"

At that point, Patricia noticed their exchange, and started to play along. "Oh, Konata, this gives me a great idea! Hiyori should do a crossover doujin, with a Tomoe/Taiga pairing! It could be so romantic.

_Loosing blood quickly… anemia imminent…_ Hiyori gasped slightly as Konata ran a finger over her shoulder, and then stopped. "Oh, come on, Hiyori, it's all in good fun." She bumped the mangaka playfully with her hip, almost knocking her down.

Something in Hiyori shifted. _Hmm… if they're going to mess with me… maybe I could mess with them…_ She cleaned up her nose the rest of the way, but her cheeks were still flushed. _Perfect, _she thought. She turned around slowly. "Um… Kona-chan? I…:" she started quietly, and took a step in the shorter girl's direction.

"Hey, Hiyori, you feeling ok?" Konata asked, a little uneasy.

"I, well, you're right, she is my favorite character, and I…" she let herself trail off, hoping her blush didn't give out and give her away. Fortunately, just thinking about her plan made her blush anyway. She put her hands on her sempai's shoulders, and looked her in the eyes. "I… it's just… I liked that character so much. I kind of… could-could you… could you be Taiga for me? Just this once? I want to…" she trailed off, and leaned in slightly. _Ha, this is great. She'll totally freak out with me hitting on her like this. I'm so twisted._

And then it backfired. Because as she leaned in, she felt, slightly at first, then more intently, Konata's lips pressed against her own. _What? She's! She's… she's still trying to mess with me! That's it! Trying to see if I'll back down! Ohoho, not so fast, Konata-sempai!_ As she, wrapped her arms around the shorter girl, and held her in place while they kissed. She expected Konata to pull away, but instead, the shorter girl returned the favor. It surprised her, but she realized, rather happily, that it was a pleasant feeling. _Maybe… oh, screw it. I already draw my classmates in compromising positions. It's time I got something for my efforts._

Patricia stared, wide-eyed, as her two friends embraced quietly, kissing with a light passion that, in a way, kind of got her going. She tried to turn away, but found she suffered greatly from train-wreck-itis. It didn't help when Konata ran a hand under Hiyori's shirt, or when Hiyori felt around for the clasp to their sempai's skirt. "Um, guys? I don't think we should… maybe… um guys? Guys! We shouldn't… that's really not…" she trailed off, but her resolve weakened the more intense the other two became. Soon, the girls had left most of their clothes behind, and had forgotten entirely where they were.

Patricia shuffled uncomfortably, then heaved a sigh. "Um, you guys…? Can-can I join in…?"

About 9:30 the next morning, a one Kaieda Taiko began his rounds at the start of his shift, checking storerooms and prepping hallways for the soon to be oncoming surge of Otaku headed his way. All was normal until, a few minutes later; he came across a door that was slightly ajar. It was marked _Cosplay Storage._ He took a peek inside, and nearly fell over.

Splayed across the floor were three high school girls in various, but almost complete, stages of undress, laying beneath blue wool blankets in the middle of the room. Costumes were strewn across the room and the three looked absolutely peaceful.

_I _should _report them, but they look, kind of happy. Oh, well._ He thought, and came up with an idea. He closed the door, and knocked quietly. A few seconds later, he heard scurrying behind him. He opened the door a crack, and whispered, "You have ten minutes. Just make sure you've cleaned up after yourself. If you're still here when I come back, I'll have to report you. If not, oh well. I didn't see anything."

He heard silence, then a small giggle. As he walked away, he remembered fondly the first time he'd snuck into Big Sight…


End file.
